woodeuff



(.No Model.) S J. I. & L. Y. WOODRUFP PLAITING MACHINE, V

Patented JanQlO, 1882.

1 ETR.

WITNESSES Attorneys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN I. D. WOODRUFF AND LAUNIGY Y. WOODRUFF, OF ST. CHARLES, KY.

PLAlTlNG-MAGHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,286, dated January 10, 1882.

Application filed August 9,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JonNLD. WOODRUFF and LAUNIOY Y. WOODRUFF, both of St. Charles, in the county of Hopkins and State of Kentucky, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Plaiting-Machines; and we do hereby declare that the i'ollowingisa full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- I Figure l is a perspective view of our improved plaiting-machine. Fig.2 is aside view of 'the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the plaiting-knife, and Fig. 4 is aside view of the plaiting-knife without a handle.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Our invention has relation to plaitiug-niachines; and it consists in an improved construction of the same, as hereinafter more fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Our improved plaiting-machineis com posed of a board or base, A, preferably about eight by fourteen inches, and lined with a piece of felt or soft cloth, or several layers of cloth, a. At opposite ends of this base or bed-piece are the parallel guides 12 I), made of wire or thin strips of metal, raised slightly above the surface of the bed-piece, to the sides of which they are fastened by headed pins 0 c, inserted through their bent ends,which permit of a rocking motion of the guides.

,B is anapronnnade of cloth or other suitable materiahwhich connects the parallel guidestrips 21 I). In some cases, as in plaiting thick or heavy material,it is desirable to have an additional apron,-C, of tin or other suitable sheet metal, which spans the bed-piece A between the guides b 1), parallel to the cloth apron B. In plaiting frilling or. other thin material this auxiliary metal apron may, however, be dispensed with. Y

The plaiting-knife, which is used in conjunction with' this machine or apparatus, is composed of two blades, 1) D, one of which should be a little longer than the other. To handle the knife conveniently we prefer to provide it with a handle, E; but this is not necessary; and in Fig. 4 of the drawings a knife is shown which is without a handle, and formed by simply bending or doublingastrip of sheet metal of the requisite thickness upon itself, so as to make one leg a little longer than the other.

The operation of this machine is as follows: The material to be plaited is placed upon the board Alongitudinally and drawn through the guide-strips b b underneath the apron B or B G, as the case maybe. The double-bladed knife is then inserted under the apron, with its blades D and D on opposite sides of the goods, and by turning or reversing the knifeblades upon the bed-piece A a fold or plait is made in the material,which is kept down and held in place by the apron B O. lhe knife is then withdrawn and reinserted to form another plait, and so on, the goods being drawn through the guides b I) until the job is completed, a hot flat-iron being drawn over the apron, after the goodshave been plaited the full length of the bed-piece, from end to end. Where the knives without a handle are used, they are used in substantially the same manner, except that they are not withdrawn to form the successive plaits, but are left in the material, sticking in their respective folds or plaits, in which they are held firmly by their ends being inserted under the metallic clamp or apron 0. When the goods have been plaited in this manner for the full length of the board a hotflat-iron is passed over the apron, as before, and the knives are then withdrawn from their respective folds or plaits, which completes the job.

Having thus described our invention, we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The plaiting-machine composed of the bed-piece A, parallel guides b b, and flexible apron B, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

2. The plaiting-inachine composed of the bed-piece A, parallel guides b b,flexible apron B, and sheet-metal clamping-apron G,substantially as described, tor the purpose set forth.

3. The pla-itingdevice or knife consisting of the parallel blades D D, of unequal length, with or without a handle.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereunto affixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN I. I). WOODRUFF. LAUNIOY Y. WOUDRUFF. Witnesses:

G. R. KEMP, ANDREW LAUSNE. 

